Constructions require regular and detailed inspections by qualified inspection specialists, in order to detect a state of the construction. This correspondingly also applies to many other objects. The inspections can provide information about whether e.g. the structural integrity of the object is ensured. Constructions—in particular buildings, repositories, bridges, towers, tunnels, roads and protective equipment—have to be regularly checked in order to ensure sufficient fitness for use and load bearing safety. Checking is effected during production, during use, repurposing and possible retreat of the constructions.
Such inspections sometimes require taking account of a multiplicity of data and parameters. By way of example, during the inspection of constructions, it is necessary to take account of material characteristics of components, operating parameters, specifications and recommendations from possible standards and guidelines and e.g. particular requirements made of a component in the context of the entire construction. There is therefore a need to provide an inspection system which enables the highest possible integration of a multiplicity of data and makes the latter available to the inspection specialist in a clear manner.
The inspections of a construction typically comprise a comprehensive examination of the construction in which inspection-relevant situations such as e.g. defects and/or disturbances of the construction or of individual components are visually identified and detected. Hereinafter, without restricting the generality for inspection-relevant situations reference is made by way of example to defects. An inspection specialist analyzes these defects in a further step and, on the basis thereof, derives a diagnosis e.g. of a type of the defect or of a topology of the defect. The diagnosis is taken as a basis for making a decision e.g. about further inspection steps and/or measures for eliminating the defects. This entails the risk that defects and the possible effects thereof on the construction will be overlooked and/or incorrectly assessed by the inspection specialist.
Registering the defects usually comprises entering the defects on a diagram such as e.g. a construction plan of a construction during the inspection by the inspection specialist. Subsequently, the registered defects are generally detected electronically and e.g. entered into a database or included in a CAD-based construction plan of the construction or a model of the construction created for example with the aid of a 3D scanner known per se. This procedure firstly has the disadvantage that the detection of the defects is solely dependent on the perception and care of the inspection specialist. However, the detection of the defects forms the basis of all further measures and should therefore have an increased redundancy with which e.g. the risk of erroneous entries or undiscovered defects can be reduced. Secondly, transferring the diagrammatically detected defects into an electronic data acquisition entails the risk of transfer errors e.g. as a result of an erroneous inputting of numerical values. Moreover, in this way it is not subsequently possible to track at what point in the inspection an error occurred. Furthermore, the repeated transfer of data is inefficient and labor-intensive. By way of example, it is not possible to track whether a defect was actually detected by the inspection specialist or was lost e.g. only at a later time e.g. during the transfer of the data.
An integrated system which attempts to overcome at least some of the existing disadvantages is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,725,097 B1. This system allows visually recognizable defects to be input into a mobile input device that the inspection specialist carries during the inspection. The defects can e.g. be classified on the basis of their visible structure in accordance with a predefined selection and be drawn on plans of the construction. In this case, the defect can be drawn manually in a construction plan e.g. by means of a graphical input program or a photograph can be taken on site. The input device can additionally comprise programmed algorithms for analyzing the defects that have been input.
While this system has improved interactivity and data integration, the detection of the inspection data is effected only by the inspection specialist, as in earlier systems, and thus has no or only low redundancy. Consequently, the advantageously automated analysis of the defects is also based solely on the detected defects, i.e. the perception and care of the inspection specialist during their detection. The system offers no protection against defects that are overlooked during detection, nor does it allow subsequent ascertainment of whether a defect was overlooked or did not occur until after the inspection.
Therefore, a problem addressed by the invention is that of overcoming the disadvantages of the prior art. In particular, a problem addressed by the invention is that of providing a diversely applicable arrangement and a diversely applicable method for inspecting an object, in particular a construction, which enables a reliable detection of the actual state and also of structural deficiencies. Moreover, the arrangement and the method are intended to be convenient to operate and to implement and are intended to ensure a high degree of safety. Moreover, the arrangement and the method are intended to ensure that at a later time it is possible to track at what point on the object, in particular on the construction, an inspection-relevant situation was detected.